Did you know that Minnie Riperton was widely regarded as the artist who popularised the use of the whistle register in contemporary music?
The mother of comedian Maya Rudolph, Riperton was classically trained to sing at the extremes of her vocal range, which spanned over a reported five octaves. The songbird used what she learned from Opera and applied her skills to R&B, Soul, Funk and Pop music as a member of the band Rotary Connection and later as a solo artist.
Riperton is widely known for her lone #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, ‘Lovin’ You’, despite scoring numerous successes on the R&B charts. Tragically, her career was cut short in 1979 when she died as a result complications related to breast cancer at the age of 31.
Several artists lauded Riperton as a major influence. In addition to being Stevie Wonder’s muse in the 1970s, she also inspired the vocal stylings of dozens of other acts, including Michael Jackson, Jill Scott, Christina Aguilera, Leona Lewis, Chante More, Shanice and Janelle Monae. Of course, Riperton’s most popular fan is probably Mariah Carey who has noted her as the biggest influence on her singing.
Watch Riperton perform the R&B classic ‘Inside My Love’ Below:
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I did know who Minnie was until Mariah spoke about her. I really like her voice.
brilliant voice, shame her life ended so early
For those not familiar with Minnie, listen to “Reasons.” Pure bliss! And those high notes are out of this world!
Such an underrated talent! She should’ve gotten her recognition when she was alive cause she deserved it. Those high notes were part of the reason why I would listen to her music especially Inside My Love. That’s my jam!
Minnie’s whistle notes were real; she could hit them with resonance and actually sang notes in whistle, Mariah was always too over hyped
Jackie Christie looks like Minnie!
mimi’s inspiration!
[...] Did you know that Minnie Riperton was widely regarded as the artist who popularised the use of the whistle register in contemporary music? Read more here! [...]
Excellent article, thanks.
[...] Riperton, who was credited as one of the first artists to employ the whistle register in Pop music, only logged one gold album in the US throughout her [...]